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Tunisie : Marwan was arrested, tortured and sent to jail in Tunisia for being gay

D 11 octobre 2015     H 05:54     A All Out     C 0 messages


URGENT : Marwan was arrested, tortured, and sent to jail in Tunisia, just for for being gay. But his appeal is coming up and authorities could decide at any moment whether to free him. Click here to automatically sign the petition urging for his release.

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Tortured for being gay. That’s what happened to Marwan, a 22-year-old student in Tunisia. When police found text messages to other men on his phone, they arrested him. They performed a horrific medical exam to ‘prove’ that he was gay. You don’t even want to know what they did.

If we don’t speak up now, Marwan could spend the next year of his life in jail. But his conviction caused a public outcry in Tunisia. Politicians are feeling the heat, and several have spoken out against the ruling.

The government wants the world to think Tunisia is making progress on human rights after the Arab Spring. So they will pay attention if thousands of us stand up for Marwan – they don’t want their image to be tarnished. We’ll join a massive movement on the ground, and the pressure could be enough to release him.

Marwan’s appeal is coming up and the authorities could decide at any moment whether to free him. Our partners in Tunisia have asked us to build a giant global petition that they will deliver to the authorities in just one week.

Tunisia’s government has pushed for progress on human rights since the Arab Spring. The country’s new constitution specifically bans discrimination and torture as well as protecting citizens’ rights to privacy.

But Marwan’s case shows they won’t stick to their word, and it’s caused a huge outcry. All of the country’s human rights groups have come together behind Marwan’s case. Politicians – including the Minister of Justice – have spoken out against the country’s anti-gay law.

It’s become a political tipping point. With huge international support, we could make sure Marwan is freed. Better yet, his case could set a new precedent. We could make sure that no one in Tunisia ever has to suffer humiliation, torture, or be jailed, just for being who they are.

Earlier this year, All Out learned that five women in China had been arrested for organising a pro-equality protest. The girlfriend of one of the women, Xiao-La, asked All Out members for their help : over 100,000 of us came together asking Chinese authorities to #FreeTheFive. We joined a global outcry of activists, governments, and journalists demanding their release – and it worked ! Xiao-La’s girlfriend and the other four women were freed.

Will you sign and share to #FreeMarwan ? Click to AUTOMATICALLY sign your name :

go.allout.org/en/a/free-marwan/

Thanks for going All Out,

Andre, Oscar, Rose, Leandro, Sarah, Kate, Lucy, and the rest of the All Out team.

P.S. Imagine being forced to undergo a horrific medical procedure to prove you’re gay. Just for sending text messages. That’s what happened to Marwan, a young man in Tunisia. But a huge outcry on the ground has authorities feeling the heat. With a massive global petition, we could make sure Marwan is freed.